Within the next few weeks, Liberal will receive a distinguishing characteristic that, surprisingly enough, isn’t related to Oz. Instead, the Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport will be presented with an artistic memorial commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A free will gift of B&B Metal Arts, seven memorials will be displayed throughout Kansas, the largest of which was unveiled at the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in September. In addition to Liberal and Wichita, memorials will also be placed at airports in Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, Hays, and Manhattan. Bruce and Brent Bitter were contacted by the Kansas Transportation Security Administration in May 2011 and according to Bruce, who has been creating metal art since 1995, he couldn’t have been happier that they were asked to make the memorials. “It’s quite an honor to do something on a federal level,” he explained. The memorials will each feature a piece of an authentic I-beam from the World Trade Center. The incredibly heavy and thick I-beam was cut into seven pieces to be split among the memorials and each foot of the material weighs more than 100 pounds. Along with the original I-beam pieces from the World Trade Center, the design for the memorials also includes an eagle flying against a backdrop of the Twin Towers. Next to the Towers is an American flag with 9 stars and 11 stripes, which represent the date of the attacks. Though memorials have already been unveiled in Wichita, Great Bend, and Dodge City, the Mid-America Regional Airport in Liberal has yet to receive its own. Garden City is set to receive the memorial next, followed by Liberal a week after that and then Manhattan. “The whole challenge was to take an original piece of the World Trade Center and properly display it as a piece of art,” Bruce Bitter explained. He went on to say that he is very satisfied with the results, especially with the publicity that the company has received. A reporter from France interviewed him, along with the many newspapers, televisions, and radio stations. Bruce Bitter will be attending the upcoming Folk Art Festival on Dec. 4 and 5 in Liberal and plans to bring a display featuring Sept. 11, 2001, along with articles, art, and some pieces of artwork for sale, too. He will also bring commemorative coins that he helped design in order to fund the project. Since the memorials are a free will donation to the Kansas TSA, B&B Metals has paid for everything and are seeking sponsors at each airport location.